But for being an alternate, he has to be an alternate on the entry list right? And he wasn't.
And if Ram withdrew too late, it should have been a LL.

Or maybe they couldn't find a LL and asked him?
Strange situation, because he wasn't in the EL at all.

I agree, it was strange for me too... He said that he will play qualies. However, when the qualies draw was released I didn't find him there, but then I read on Twitter that he got in the MD because Ram Rajeev withdrew.